John Carpenter Retro: Ep 16 – In The Mouth of Sam Neill… or Madness

In the Mouth of Madness probably isn’t a movie that you typically associate with John Carpenter. I’m sure you think of The Thing or Halloween first and foremost, but I urge you to make this connection now. Jeff Konopka and Shawn Savage discuss in depth one of the best horror movies of the recent age, and one of my favorites. In fact I think we can all agree it’s up there on our top horror movie lists. It’s pure horror. It’s pre-meta horror i.e. before Scream. It incorporates the best of what Stephen King was writing via extension of Lovecraft. Sam Neill is perfectly cast and the score should be the newest addition to your playlist on your morning commute. There are so many reasons to check this movie out beyond the black humor and all out effect ridden chaos that you need to bring a notebook to your TV while enjoying it to make sure you get it all down.

Let the Dead Air crew show you how to appreciate this J.C. gem in this newest addition to the retrospective series. Remember that this series does contain spoilers so if you haven’t check out this flick, make sure to view it immediately. You can’t call yourself a John Carpenter fan without at least seeing this movie. It might be fun for you to take a look at a previous write up on the Liberal Dead from a guest contributor discussing In the Mouth of Madness. Check it out HERE.

While there’s been a DVD release, it’s quite obvious that this one could use an update, so pray that the gods of Blu deliver accordingly. Mr. Savage actually has a DVR’d version of it from Encore’s Fright Fest last year in stunning hi def. He’s convinced that it will shake the balls off of you. Please make it a point to enjoy this film in higher definition if at all possible this holiday season (not Christmas… HALLOWEEN!!!).

Watch the trailer. See the movie. Start the insanity and reconnect with a piece of John Carpenter’s legacy that reassured fans of the horror genre that they could expect more from one of its pioneers than Memoirs of the Invisible Man and Body Bags.

Make sure to draw crosses all over your face in edible body paint if you’re treating yourself to a date night with your significant other. A happy Dead Air listener is a sexually gratified Dead Air listener.

And guys… heads up… we’re gonna be switching web hosts pretty soon… fairly soon… well,we’ll do it when we damn well feel like it, but we’ll be sure to let you know. Our dear friends at Blog Talk Radio don’t have the quality that our listeners deserve (even if the podcast deserves a ham radio signal). That means you’ll have to make the transition with us and subscribe over at the new site (to be named… ooooo… spooooooky). Until then, keeping tuning in to the JC retro series and Dead Air over and Blog Talk and iTunes and await further instruction.